Document Type
Journal Article
Department/Unit
Department of Chemistry
Title
Occurrence, profile and possible sources of PCNs in Hong Kong soils, and a comparison with PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs
Language
English
Abstract
© 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) have been proposed for inclusion in the annexes of the Stockholm Convention by the European Union, signifying a probable increase in monitoring PCN levels at a global level. Investigations on PCN levels in the environment of Hong Kong have not been reported. In this preliminary investigation, PCN levels in surface soils samples were determined by isotope dilution HRGC/HRMS techniques, and compared with those of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The concentrations of PCNs in the soil samples were 35–883 pg g−1 (average, 201; and median, 94 pg g−1), which were lower than those of PCBs PCDDs and PCDFs. This comparison suggested that PCNs are currently not priority POPs compared with dioxins and PCBs in Hong Kong soils. PCDDs were the most important contributor to the sum of toxic equivalents of PCNs, PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs. OCDD was the most dominant dioxin congener in Hong Kong surface soils. PCB-118 was the most abundant in 12 dl-PCB congeners. PCN congeners indicating thermal related sources (CN52/60, CN66/67 and CN73) were relatively abundant in their respective homologs, which suggested PCN contamination from thermal sources. The ratio of CN73 to CN74 in soil samples suggested the contribution of PCN contaminations in soils from both thermal-related sources and evaporative emissions of technical PCN mixtures.
Keywords
Hong Kong, PCDD/Fs, Persistent organic pollutants, Polychlorinated biphenyls, Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), Stockholm Convention
Publication Date
2014
Source Publication Title
Environmental Science And Pollution Research
Volume
21
Issue
23
Start Page
13656
End Page
13663
Publisher
Springer
DOI
10.1007/s11356-014-3258-0
Link to Publisher's Edition
ISSN (print)
09441344
ISSN (electronic)
16147499
Recommended Citation
Liu, Guorui, Minghui Zheng, and Zongwei Cai. "Occurrence, profile and possible sources of PCNs in Hong Kong soils, and a comparison with PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs." Environmental Science And Pollution Research 21.23 (2014): 13656-13663.